All posts tagged ‘time capsule’

My family home has always been kid friendly. It wasn’t the hub of social activity while I was growing up, but there was always something on hand for everyone to play with, regardless of age. Alas, children grow up. My youngest niece is now 15, and it has been years since hordes of children have assembled at my parents’ house. Who knew they would prefer my aunt’s house, with the indoor pool?

Now I have two boys. One is just discovering that he has feet, but the other — ah, he is a force to be reckoned with. I have watched his imagination grow by leaps and bounds in the past year. He no longer requires my input; he will happily sit while his toys have a conversation with each other, he will race cars on the moon and he will rescue every animal he has, from every possible danger.

Photo: Sarah Pinault

At the end of my parents’ yard is a shed. In this shed is an old blue box. This old blue box is full of toys that have been collected over the years, thrown in for countless kids to play with. My dad couldn’t recall the last time it had been opened, and so was excited to see what was inside. It was a time capsule of sorts, discarded toys from different times in the life of our entire extended family. It was also a complete hodgepodge, consisting of original Star Wars, Masters of the Universeand Pixar. My son played with everything indiscriminately, and everything interacted with everything else. Esmeralda danced with Celia, while a Wampa took a ride on Thomas the Tank Engine. I don’t know who had more fun, my son or me and my dad watching him!

You won’t win a prize if you can name everything in this box, but you can add an extra notch to your geek credentials if you can tell me what the ship is. We hoard things in my family – it’s what we do. I also married into it, so I predict that in 20 years’ time, when I open the tote boxes I periodically fill with discarded toys, I might have a surprise or two waiting for me. This old blue box certainly had a lot more on the inside than it appeared to contain from without. What would be in your toy box time capsule?

My pre-schooler is a good sleeper. Last New Year’s Eve I tried to let her stay up to ring in the new year. She was passed out solid by 10 pm. So I and a few of my friends hit the drawing board. My daughter is still young enough I have time to formulate new family traditions and so help me, if we have to do them for the next 20- some-odd years, they are going to be good. I discovered I don’t have a clue what to do with a sleepy girl on New Year’s Eve. Heaven knows she is not gonna make it to midnight and even if she did the only thing I know to do when the bells ring and the ball drops is make insane amounts of noise, kiss total strangers, and drink cheap bubbly. Not exactly kid friendly. So after brainstorming a bit we’ve come up with a couple ideas that don’t take all night.

New Year’s Eve

Kid Friendly (Low Sugar) Cocktail Bar

Hit up the convenience store for every sort of fruit juice you can find. The single serving sizes are best because there is less waste. Both Target and Walmart sell sparkling flavored water. These are carbonated, sugar & calorie free, and come in a variety of fruit flavors. They taste a little better than just plain club soda and make for some fantastic creative moments. Grab a few pieces of fresh fruit; citrus of all sorts, whatever berries you can land in January, apples, whatever floats your boat. Every wonder what a pomegranate acai blueberry lemon lime citrus splash with a hint of grape tastes like? You can find out, just be imaginative.

Ring Out the Old

Take a quick trip to your local craft or fabric store and grab about 2 yards of 2 or 3 colors of fleece. Make fleece tie square lap blankets for you local senior citizens home. If you aren’t sure how to make these, here’s a decent pattern. Attach a few bells to the ties. While you are tying, it makes for a great time to talk about various New Year’s myths. Check out a full list of popular myths here.

Image via Creative Commons

New Year’s Day

“Baby New Year” Breakfast

Fix up all your favorites, baby style. Quail eggs are great if you can get a hold of them. Silver dollar pancakes, dice up those hashbrowns to just this side of mashed potato – everything in miniature style. One of my friends suggested breakfast smoothies out of baby bottles but for those of us for whom sippies and bottles aren’t that distant a past, that one may not make any affect. However, moms with the older broods might get a kick out of serving breakfast out of a baby bottle. You can even encourage “chugging” contests between your kiddos. Its positively riotous. About.com has some great smoothie recipes.

One Year Time Capsule

This is great for any age, but particularly poignant for GeekMoms (and Dads) with wee little ones. Tastes, education, skills, and abilities change so much in a year’s time when your kids are under six. A one year time capsule is fantastic. You can make a traditional capsule with items, physical pictures, and hand written notes, but I much prefer a digital one. Pick up a cheap pen drive from just about anywhere. Document the dumbest things like what your child ate that day and their favorite sippy cup and the mundane little things they like. It’s amazing how quick you forget the things you swear you never will. Ask them questions and write down their answers even if they don’t make sense. If you have a webcam record him saying Happy New Year or sitting in her cute little Baby New Year outfit. Lock it up in the fire safe for the year and open December 31st.